Friday, August 31, 2018

A growing number of Hispanics along the Texas-Mexico border with birth records showing they were born in the United States are being denied American passports, held in immigration detention centers, and entered into deportation proceedings, immigration attorneys and individuals affected told the Washington Post. CNN's Nick Valencia reports.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

US Citizenship Bootcamp Episode 4 of 5: Mini-Dialogues about WorkJennifer and Jeane demonstrate two mini-dialogues from US Citizenship Bootcamp about Financial Support and Work of National Importance Under Civilian Directions by using examples from She Built Ships During WWII.US Citizenship Bootcamp and She Built Ships During WWII are available from Amazon.com and ESLPublishing.com

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

The U.S. government expects children, as young as 18 months and unable to speak, to represent themselves in immigration court to fight against their deportation. Lawyers in Miami made a coloring book to help kids understand what they’re facing.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Before we begin, we would like to mark the passing of Senator John McCain. in the democratic strongholds of San Jose and Milpitas, this Republican senator is held in high esteem as a warrior who pursued peace out of his deep respect for the Vietnamese people. His wisdom will be deeply missed.

Because it is the beginning of the school, we will listen to an easy Citizenship Interview of 15 questions based on the N- 400 Application for Naturalization plus geography and civics questions ending with the number one. Let's get started!

Office David referred to the following script:

Elementary Interview based on the Revised N-400 (21qs) (updated 04/18/2016)

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Best known for having survived as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and winning the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, John Sidney McCain remained an ardent and unapologetic believer in American exceptionalism. Michael Bowman has more.

VOANews: Immigrants from India Increasing at US-Mexico BorderImmigrants from India are becoming increasingly common at the U.S.-Mexico border. They are now the fifth-largest group after immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador...Many of the immigrants are Sikhs who are fleeing "political persecution" with a religious component, say lawyers who represent them in U.S. asylum cases. (read more)

Monday, August 13, 2018

In San Jose, we have really noticed the recent increased wait times to process N-400 Applications for Naturalization. Applicants who used to wait about four months are now waiting eight months or more. This weekend I received a joyful text from my long-time student, Min Hui, that she finally received her citizenship appointment letter. Here is her practice interview from June plus a round-robin civics quiz from her fellow citizenship students. After her interview, I will talk a bit more about how to check USCIS Processing times.How to check USCIS Processing Times1. Go to USCIS.gov2. Click the CHECK PROCESSING TIMES link (under TOOLS)3. Select Form: N-400; Field Office: (your field office)4. Click GET PROCESSING TIME button5. USCIS will give you a processing date range and “Receipt date for a case inquiry" (for example the SJ office is 8-14 months and the receipt date for a case inquiry is June 20, 2017)Note 1: You can also create an account to see your personalized case completion time on this Get Processing Time results page.Note 2: If your receipt date is before the “Receipt date for a case inquiry", you can submit an “outside normal processing time” service request online. The link is on this Get Processing Time results page under CASE MANAGEMENT TOOLS.Note 3: You can also use the USCIS digital assistant EMMA to guide you through this procedure.Note 4: If you prefer to talk to a USCIS officer in person, go to the TOOLS, the APPOINTMENTS. You can make an appointment at the INFOPASS page. The officer can check your case status but cannot give legal advice.Thanks to the students and staff of Milpitas Adult School. A special thanks goes out to Min Hui and her classmates.

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Teacher Jennifer says: I use many Citizenship books in my class. You can purchase my book, US Citizenship Bootcamp: Exercises and Quizzes to Pass the Naturalization Interview on Amazon or ESLPublishing (Teacher samples and discounts for class sets available!)

Monday, August 6, 2018

Here is a recording with Min Zheng, a doctor from China. After her interview, the students ask her the civics questions. It may be a little difficult to hear and understand some of the questions. Use this opportunity to listen for key words and practice asking, "Excuse me, can you please repeat the question?" Let's get started.

A bit more a Min Zheng. One of the most interesting things about her is that she did not go to school to learn English. She learned English solely from mobile apps and an online community on We Chat that like to practice English. As she gained more confidence, she practiced speaking English with her grandchildren especially when she helped them with their homework.

I can recommend two mobile apps to learn English:

DuoLingo--This app is free. I am using it now to study German, but you can also download DuoLingo in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, or many other languages to study English.

USALearns--This app is free or you can study at their website, USALearns.org which includes a intensive Citizenship course which includes difficult N-400 vocabulary.

Friday, August 3, 2018

LATimes: I am raising my daughter to speak three languages. A stranger demanded I 'speak English' to her. (read) (video)

“You don’t need to worry about my child,” I told her. She speaks English, Armenian and Spanish and is learning a fourth language.
“How many languages do you speak?” I asked.
“I speak Een-glish,” she told me, hand on hip. “That’s what matters.”
Then she asked how well my daughter could know any of her languages — to which I replied, smiling, “You would be surprised.”
That evening, with a mix of emotions, I described the encounter on Twitter.
What came next stunned me... (read more)